Read Online The Spinster and the Duke by Jillian Eaton - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jillian Eaton
Ads: Link
think Aunt Abigail is the reason he lived in France?”
“Why else? His family and his holdings were all in England. True, his wife was from France, but it is customary for the woman to follow the husband, not the other way around, especially given all of the political drama between our countries.”
Dianna sat heavily on the edge of an ivory chaise lounge. “I never thought of it that way. It makes sense, however. Thirty years without a word. You would think he forgot all about her, wouldn’t you? But then his wife passes and he is on the first ship back to England.”
“Highly suspicious,” Charlotte agreed.
“And romantic, if you forget he broke her heart. Poor Aunt Abigail. She loves him still. I know she does.”
“We have to do something.”
“Yes, but what? She does not want to see him. I think she is afraid.”
“Afraid? Afraid of what?”
“Of going through it all again. What if he breaks her heart a second time? I do not think I would be able to do it.” For the briefest of moments Dianna allowed herself to think of the one man she had allowed close enough to touch her own heart. She’d given it to him willingly, and he’d held it with such care until the day he had crushed it beneath the heel of his boot and never looked back. If he ever returned, would she be willing to risk her heart again?
“You are choking my swan.”
“What?” Dianna asked, startled.
“The crystal swan. It is already dead. You needn’t kill it again.”
Glancing down at her lap, Dianna saw that she did, in fact, have her hands wrapped around the swan’s dainty neck. “Oh my,” she exclaimed before hastily returning the swan to its place of honor in the middle of the table. “I am sorry. I do not know what came over me.”
Charlotte was not fooled for a second. “You were thinking about him, weren’t you?” She sighed. “How could you not? The similarities are uncanny.”
“I do not want to talk about him,” Dianna said sharply.
“No, you never do. It is all right,” she said, holding up a hand. Dianna promptly closed her mouth, swallowing back the words she had been ready to spit out. “Cad that he is he does not deserve another second of your time. Let us focus on your aunt, and save Miles Radnor for another day.”
Even hearing the name of her estranged fiancée gave Dianna cause to wince, but she lifted her chin and forcefully shoved any thought of him from her mind. He no longer concerned her. He very well could have been dead for all she knew, although there was no sense of satisfaction in wishing for his untimely demise. She had loved him once, after all. Or at least she had loved the boy he used to be. A severe case of the pox would suit her lust for revenge just fine. Heavens knew he could stand to lose a bit of his handsomeness. Dark hair, piercing green eyes, and a face that belonged to an angel. Was it any wonder she’d lost her heart to him?
“I have been thinking of ways to get Aunt Abigail and Ashburn together,” she admitted, lowering her voice to a whisper on the off chance anyone was listening, “and I believe I have the perfect idea…”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The damn woman had disappeared.
Thinking to give Abby time to acquaint herself with the idea that he was not going away, Reginald had attended to some affairs of a personal nature. He owned two properties in London and one on the outskirts, a brick mansion that had been abandoned and closed up long before he was born. It was a graceful old lady set far back from the street and protected by a line of towering oaks, their leaves already turning yellow and red in preparation for the long winter ahead.
Of all the estates he owned the brick was by far his favorite. It possessed fine bones beneath the layers of neglect and had been built with an eye for the nature that existed beyond its walls. Gardens, overgrown and running wild with weeds, surrounded the house. Climbing ivy covered the entire east
“Why else? His family and his holdings were all in England. True, his wife was from France, but it is customary for the woman to follow the husband, not the other way around, especially given all of the political drama between our countries.”
Dianna sat heavily on the edge of an ivory chaise lounge. “I never thought of it that way. It makes sense, however. Thirty years without a word. You would think he forgot all about her, wouldn’t you? But then his wife passes and he is on the first ship back to England.”
“Highly suspicious,” Charlotte agreed.
“And romantic, if you forget he broke her heart. Poor Aunt Abigail. She loves him still. I know she does.”
“We have to do something.”
“Yes, but what? She does not want to see him. I think she is afraid.”
“Afraid? Afraid of what?”
“Of going through it all again. What if he breaks her heart a second time? I do not think I would be able to do it.” For the briefest of moments Dianna allowed herself to think of the one man she had allowed close enough to touch her own heart. She’d given it to him willingly, and he’d held it with such care until the day he had crushed it beneath the heel of his boot and never looked back. If he ever returned, would she be willing to risk her heart again?
“You are choking my swan.”
“What?” Dianna asked, startled.
“The crystal swan. It is already dead. You needn’t kill it again.”
Glancing down at her lap, Dianna saw that she did, in fact, have her hands wrapped around the swan’s dainty neck. “Oh my,” she exclaimed before hastily returning the swan to its place of honor in the middle of the table. “I am sorry. I do not know what came over me.”
Charlotte was not fooled for a second. “You were thinking about him, weren’t you?” She sighed. “How could you not? The similarities are uncanny.”
“I do not want to talk about him,” Dianna said sharply.
“No, you never do. It is all right,” she said, holding up a hand. Dianna promptly closed her mouth, swallowing back the words she had been ready to spit out. “Cad that he is he does not deserve another second of your time. Let us focus on your aunt, and save Miles Radnor for another day.”
Even hearing the name of her estranged fiancée gave Dianna cause to wince, but she lifted her chin and forcefully shoved any thought of him from her mind. He no longer concerned her. He very well could have been dead for all she knew, although there was no sense of satisfaction in wishing for his untimely demise. She had loved him once, after all. Or at least she had loved the boy he used to be. A severe case of the pox would suit her lust for revenge just fine. Heavens knew he could stand to lose a bit of his handsomeness. Dark hair, piercing green eyes, and a face that belonged to an angel. Was it any wonder she’d lost her heart to him?
“I have been thinking of ways to get Aunt Abigail and Ashburn together,” she admitted, lowering her voice to a whisper on the off chance anyone was listening, “and I believe I have the perfect idea…”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The damn woman had disappeared.
Thinking to give Abby time to acquaint herself with the idea that he was not going away, Reginald had attended to some affairs of a personal nature. He owned two properties in London and one on the outskirts, a brick mansion that had been abandoned and closed up long before he was born. It was a graceful old lady set far back from the street and protected by a line of towering oaks, their leaves already turning yellow and red in preparation for the long winter ahead.
Of all the estates he owned the brick was by far his favorite. It possessed fine bones beneath the layers of neglect and had been built with an eye for the nature that existed beyond its walls. Gardens, overgrown and running wild with weeds, surrounded the house. Climbing ivy covered the entire east
Similar Books
